Towards linking driving complexity to crash risk

Complementary to classical road safety approaches aimed at improving infrastructure, there is growing evidence about the relationship between motorway crashes and traffic conditions. Unstable or congested flow can drastically increase cognitive workload for motorists which, combined with reduced freedom to perform needed maneuvers (e.g. lane changes), increases crash risk. While these conditions are usually described by macro factors such as average traffic speed, modern vehicle detection technologies allow analysis of individual vehicle behaviors (micro level). This paper discusses the value of refined detection and analysis methodologies to develop Intelligent Transport System based road safety improvement strategies.